Grounded and Gone
by La-Femme-Feline
Summary: Maximum Ride has been captured. Transformed into an Eraser, Max and her mate, Fang, follow any and all orders given. The newest mission? Kill the birdkids. Follow Max as she regains her life, her love, and most importantly - her wings. FAX
1. Chapter 1

Grounded

By Ocean Wings

Chapter One

I turned around slowly in the mirror and looked over my shoulder to inspect my back. My lovely, beautiful wings were open at half-mast, each feather wonderfully defined in its own special way. I admired how the frail flesh of my back melded with the coarse feathers so easily, so perfectly, like the wings had naturally grown there.

Of course that wasn't the case. These giant chicken wings were 'grafted' onto me when I was a fetus, barely even alive. And this evil organization, full of psychotic scientists did that. It made me shudder to think of the years of pain and horror I went through before I became free. I went back to the mindless task of looking at my wings again. The wing joints joined with the shoulder blades; shoulder blades I could easily detach for freer movement.

I rolled said shoulder blades in a stretch above my head. Ah, that felt nice. I glanced at my freakishly large shoulders. I looked like an Olympic swimmer with my wings tucked in. Yeah, I totally did seventy laps in the pool every day to get these shoulders. Not.

I reached back, and slid my hand between the wing knobs, trying to feel what was between them. It was soft, like baby powder, but it didn't flake off (thank goodness). It wasn't skin, nor was it feathers. It was a kind of extremely soft, downy kind of skin, I think. I could feel the tiny feathers of skin between my fingernails. Skin-covered feathers, ew.

My beautiful wings. As freaking amazing as they were, they were still a big, monumental pain. Humans didn't have to worry about covering something other than their body. They didn't have weird growing pains in their backs that weren't even from a mammal. Plus, they didn't have the 'fun' of molting every couple of years. Let me tell you, wings are butt-ugly without feathers covering them. Humans didn't have to cut slits in the back of every shirt and jacket they owned. Human GIRLS didn't have to worry about getting their wings tangled up while trying to put on their bras. That's a huge pain in my book.

But I should stop complaining. How many people get to soar across the skies, something people could only dream about? If I didn't have wings, I would think about flying all the time. I guess I should count myself lucky in that aspect.

Although I could soar, many years I couldn't. I was confined to a dog crate, pain and fear and hate my only companions. It's hard not to shut yourself down when that happens. It's extremely hard not to loathe the things permanently attached to your body. Without them, you could go free. But the feeling you got when you were in the air was incredible, indescribable. It could be something so wonderful that tears could pour out your eyes and soak your clothes clean through in the sheer joy, but you still couldn't get a word out of your amazed mouth that was struggling to convey the feeling that was threatening to burst out of your chest. Think of it as a roller coaster coupled with a sugar high coupled with the most amazing moment of your life (not counting the flying part). It all added up to flying.

These beauties were a pain, yes, a huge pain, but they were a joy to have. They were probably more a part of me than I realized. I stroked the feathers absentmindedly and turned to face the mirror.

I gasped. I was suddenly struck by how OLD I looked. Well, duh, I had always looked old in the eyes, knowing too much and seeing too much from the past that haunted me to this day, but never like this. I was . . . mature-looking. My hair had been shorn down to almost a boy-cut, but it was long enough to look girly. It was a tough-looking haircut. There were streaks of a light red color in my hair, almost looking like watered-down blood. I liked it though, fluffing it around my eyes.

My eyes were the weirdest thing. They were trusting, compassionate, and hopelessly naïve. They were still the same Hispanic brown, but they were twinkly (and I mean seriously twinkling; you could see the lights) and . . . happy. Why were my eyes like this? My eyes were hard, calculating, and shrewd. They gave nothing away. Or so I thought. The eyes I looked at now were a tad worried. Skip that.

The rest of my face was basically the same. I mean, it had thinned out even more, and a more prominent spatter of freckles dotted the bridge of my nose, but I still had the same nose and the same half-full lips. And randomly, I had a bunch of ear piercings, just like I had always wanted.

My body was changed too. My legs were thin and shapely, my arms the same. I had long fingernails, which as weird, because I kept them short (or broken) out of necessity. I had a curvy pair of hips, full breasts, and an elegant shape to my neck. I was completely naked in the mirror, bare as the day I was born (if you can call it that), but it was one of those dreams were you don't realize it and don't care.

I went back to examining my face, but the image in the mirror swirled and morphed into the face I realized. My face. It still had the dying effects of the hot pink dye from New York, and was impossibly sun-kissed from flying high up. It was to my athletic shoulders, like normal. My eyes were expressive to the point of a knife, my body youthful, and my ears un-pierced because Erasers could probably rip them out easily and I didn't really want to find out . . .

Then I, she, opened her mouth. "Hey," she said, her sharp eyes softening as she realized who I was. There was pity in her eyes. For what?

"Hey," I repeated, "What is this?"

She held her fingers up to the mirror, motioning for me to mimic her movements. The glass of the mirror was as cold as I thought. She sighed.

"I'm you, from a long time ago," she said, "I'm sorry I let them do this to us."

"Do what?" I asked. She unfolded her wings to their full extension.

"I'm sorry we can't fly anymore," she whispered, fading away behind the glass.

I hurriedly pulled my fingers back from the mirror, clutching my hand as if I'd been burned. I froze, numbing panic overwhelming me. What had she said?! I touched the back of my neck, afraid to reach down and see if what she said was true.

It was.

I turned around in the mirror again, staring at my back. My naked, wingless back. I screamed, pulverizing the fleshy skin where my wings should've been, and whipped back around, giving a fresh scream, a single, unending note.

I was not Max. I was not the older Max or the younger Max. I was an Eraser. Eraser Max. I kept screaming, not knowing why I was so terrified. This was my natural body after all. I looked in the mirror, gazing with undoubtedly feral eyes, pupils slit like a cat's. Her ears were on the top of her head, furry and dog-like. Her crouch was horrid, like she was going to pounce any minute.

Her body was lean, muscular, and made to pursue. Her fingernails were pointy and strong, but her hair was pretty much the same, a little wilder, except the streaks were rustier. It was . . . blood!

She opened her mouth to say something, probably something important, but all I saw were her fangs, dangerous and needle-sharp. I screamed again.

And promptly sat up in bed. A bed? Oh thank god. It was a dream. I ruffled my hair, yawning. What time was it? I craned my neck to look at my clock. 4 AM. Another half-hour 'til breakfast. Dang.

The door creaked open suddenly and I tensed. What could anyone want at this hour? Fang, my mate, slid through the frame, shutting the door behind him. He was still the same. Black ears, white smile. We were both the same, liking to keep ourselves half-morphed. It showed our status. We were Alpha and Beta wolf here.

Fang slunk to my bed and hugged me. "What's the nightmare this time?" he asked.

I held my head, trying to dredge up the fleeting memory, racking my brains. I accepted defeat after awhile.

"I don't remember," I confessed, "This sucks."

"Maybe it'll come to you later," he mumbled, his breath tickling my neck.

[I had a nightmare too, don't worry.] Fang said, his voice echoing in my mind, a product of the telepathy chip in our brains.

{Poor boy,} I fake-simpered, {Does Mommy need to give you a kiss?}

[Don't mind if I do.] He thought, brushing his lips against mine softly, [C'mon, up and at 'em, time to face another day.]

He flashed out of my room in a heartbeat, as normal as could be. I glanced around my room. Oval bed, washstand, closet, bedside table, super-technological intercom/TV/computer . . . Everything was the same. So why were there chills on my neck and a sharp pain in my head?

I shook off the feeling and got dressed. I flinched passing the mirror. Everything was the same! Nothing was wrong! What was the matter with me?! I gnashed my fangs in anger at myself and turned away from the cold glass. Nothing was wrong!

I was Maximum Ride. Strong, capable, perfect. Not afraid of anything! Pathetic humans may have fear, but it was taken out of me. Erasers had nothing to fear.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"What's up?" I said, smiling down at Poise, my best friend and a successful cobra hybrid. She blinked her eyes closed sideways and flickered her tongue at me.

"Not much," she said in her gravel-like voice, "Want some of the crap they're serving for breakfast? They're serving it again."

I snarled at the disgusting array of fruits and vegetables on the buffet table. The scientists were trying to see if us carnivores could survive on an all greens diet. Fat chance. They were insane. Most of us (the smart ones) cheated and caught birds instead. I, for one, couldn't wait until they brought back the T-bones. Delicious. I sunk into the bench next to Poise and watched her pick at something orange.

"What's the schedule?" I asked, "Target practice? Running? Tracking?"

"Target practice, and then free time," she hissed, flipping back her long green-black hair impatiently, "And for those lucky enough, they might be chosen to go on a mission." I knew she wanted to be chosen. She always wanted to be chosen for something special.

I clenched my fists in anticipation, "Have those idiots finally found the birdkids yet? Is that it?"

"No one knows," Poise said mysteriously, still picking at whatever was on her plate, "By the way, was that you screaming this morning? I could hear it on the other side of the compound."

"Another forgetful dream," I said, fighting the urge to shudder at nothing, "Fang was there for me. It's fine." Why, oh why, did that dream horrify me so much?! I couldn't even remember it! And my head hurt trying to think about it. It had something to do with mirrors and the birdkids.

"As he should," Poise said, interrupting my thinking, "He's your mate for life."

"I know," I grumbled, forgetting my dream and thinking sweet thoughts about my mate, our alpha.

"And to think you guys are already so high up," Poise hissed wistfully, "You've only been here a couple months." Poise had been here her whole life.

I gave her a pointy smile. Poise was nice, but she was a pathetic dreamer. She would never top Fang and me.

"Time," Poise shouted, her super-sensitive hearing already picking up the bell before it rang. I pushed back my bench full of people with one hand. I marveled at how strong Erasers were. I was still stronger than most.

I followed the rest of the lemmings, filing out with the others to the target practice field.

Someone handed me a gun. AK-47. I shifted its bulk to my shoulder. Decent weight, nice design. This might be a good one. I followed Poise out to our corner on the shooting range.

A resounding crack split the air as we all fired at once. I smirked. Bull's eye. A couple more shots and I was bored. I had shot at the same place for a while. I cocked the gun and blasted someone's bullet out of midair. Everyone's head turned. I gave a fanged smirk. Losers. They couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

"Show-off," Poise said as she shot off-target.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. I shot a swallow from where I was and caught the dead bird. That was what I would do to the birdkids. But for now I could eat. I tossed my rifle to the dirt where somebody immediately picked it up and started firing. I walked off, munching on tasty swallow as I went, picking my teeth with a rib.

Poise always warned me that if I quote 'showed-off' unquote too much, somebody could hurt me. Uh-huh. Because the hybrids here are stupid enough to attack the best and basically, the queen. Yeah right.

I found Fang in his room. "You skipped practice," I grumbled, hanging by the door to see if I was welcome, waiting for the scent in the air to change.

"I can hit an ant from the top of the Empire State Building," Fang complained behind his glossy magazine, "Why bother doing something that isn't a challenge?" He grinned over the page he was reading. The scent in the room changed instantly. I was welcome.

See, when you cross a human with a wolf, you get an Eraser. And an Eraser gets super-acute reflexes, amazing senses, and the rules of the wolf pack. The whole thing balanced on respect, power, and wisdom, like how Fang won the alpha male challenge.

I flopped down next to him on his bed, snuggling into his side and tracing a scar on his forearm from that same fight. He put down the magazine and massaged my hip, making me practically purr,

"You're no Eraser," he teased, "You're just a kitty cat."

"Famous last words," I growled before tackling him. We rolled around on the floor like two wolf cubs, tugging on each other's ears and biting limbs playfully. I collapsed in a heap to the floor, panting, stomach up in submission-pose.

"I give," I huffed, "You win."

"Of course I do," he said smilingly, fangs glinting in the fluorescents. He fondled my ear, nuzzling it in a way that made me whimper.

"It's no wonder you're the beta wolf," he said huskily, "You're wonderfully wild."

"Don't you know it," I smiled.

A sharp noise on the intercom cut through our playful banter, making me clamp my ears down hard. Why did they always have to use that stupid canine whistle to get our attention?! They could just say our names!

"Alpha and Beta, you are needed in Room 11," a robotic voice ordered, clicking off.

"I hate that thing," Fang grumbled, shaking his head, his ears twitching. I can agree. I LOATHE the stupid thing.

"Come on, Beta," he said, scooping me up in one of his arms. He was so strong, even stronger than me.

"Alpha," I said, nodding curtly as I jumped out towards the door, acting snooty. He caught me from behind and we chased each other down the hall, laughing.

"Alpha, Beta," Jeb said as we came in, nodding towards some chairs. We fell silent, sitting in our hard, plastic chairs and staring at the TV screen.

"We have the location of the avians," an Eraser's voice grunted, "Come immediately. Capture them. Bring four in your group, one for each. 362-04 out." The screen flicked and died.

"You two are the obvious choices for this mission," Jeb said, smiling in a way that I didn't recognize, "So pick your other two candidates."

"I recommend Poise," Fang said automatically. My eyes narrowed. Why would he want to bring along that pathetic garden snake?

"She's good at scents and tracking," Jeb agreed, "Poise it is."

"I say Frederick," I countered, "He's good at offense and targets." Fang's eyes glared at me. He knew Frederick had sort of a thing for me.

"Frederick," Jeb mused, "Yes, yes, he's fine. Alright, get packing."

We raced out, glaring at each other.

"Frederick?" he spat, "Why would you choose that whiny pup?"

"Poise?" I sneered, "Why would you choose that insipid worm?"

"Poise is your friend," Fang said angrily, "I thought you would LIKE to have her along. I recommended her for YOU." My resolve softened. I bet you could smell the cowardly odor of relief coming off me in waves.

"I thought you choose Poise because you liked her," I confessed, "I've seen you looking at her. I chose Frederick to spurn you." We both glanced towards the door we had just walked out of and sent the same message.

{[Too late now.]}

Fang stared moodily at the ground, looking at his ragged sneakers, "Poise just kinda creeps me out. She looks at you like you're her next piece of prey. It's a huge risk taking her and Frederick, but we'll have to take it."

"I know," I sighed, "Nothing can break our love though."

"Yeah," he said. "Hey, wait a sec!" His face light up in an unholy grin, "Are you jealous that Poise might steal me?"

I flushed. Crap. I hadn't meant to say that.

His face softened and he tweaked one of my ears, giving me one of his favorite smiles.

"Even if you were a human or worse I'd love you," he breathed, kissing me sweetly, "Let's fight –,"

"Kill -," I said.

"And triumph," we chorused. It was our personal motto. We would kill the birdkids.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I chucked an undershirt across the room over my shoulder. It landed perfectly in my backpack, still folded. Point. I found my switchknife in the back of my drawer and slid it down my almost-skin-tight sleeve. I had a sinking feeling about this mission. It helped to be on guard.

A light knock on my door and my head whipped around. I couldn't shake the feeling that I should just hide in my closet for the rest of my life,

"Come in," I called, throwing a pair of socks in the backpack.

"Not feeling well?" Fang asked, sliding through the door and massaging my shoulders soothingly. I relaxed under his hands. Another thing about the telepathy chip is that we're able to feel each other's emotions in extreme cases.

"Not feeling good at all," I sighed, "I don't want to go now. Something horrible is going to happen."

Fang's brow furrowed, "Really?"

"I think so," I said. That disturbing dream I had had was an omen. I was sure of it.

"I'll protect you," Fang said, striking a heroic stance. I threw a shirt at his face, giggling.

"Yeah right," I snorted, "Like I need protection. I'm fine."

"I know," he said, smiling, "I just wanted to make you laugh." I looked into his eyes, soft and melty, all for me. Aw.

I glanced at the clock and mentally cursed, throwing crap in my backpack at double speed. It was almost time to meet in the cafeteria with Poise and Frederick.

Fang soundly handed me the full backpack and strapped on his own. We were good to go.

We met Poise and Frederick, and Jeb, who gave us a GPS. They must've gotten a tracker on each of the kids. We also got spiffy camping supplies and some canned meat. Yum, yum. Dead tin-covered animal. It was always better fresh and bloody anyway.

We left, running north-northwest into the forest. Poise had trouble keeping up (as always, the slowpoke. We weren't even going half-speed!). I let my mind relax. It was just amazing though, to feel the wind ripping through your hair and your eyes streaming from the speed. And your snot getting plastered to the back of your skull . . .

ʚI never had this trouble while flying.ʚ

Flying? Wait, what? What had I just said? FLYING? I never flew. I was an Eraser, born and bred. I wasn't a weak bird kid!

ERASER.

I am an Eraser.

ʚI wonder what it would be like to fly again.ʚ

Eraser, damn it, I was an ERASER! I slowed suddenly, tweaking my right ankle in the abrupt stop. Ow. I winced in pain for a second and then the pain was gone.

ʚI never had regeneration powers this fast. Lucky.ʚ

Oh my god where was that voice coming from?!

Fang and Frederick circled back to me, Poise catching up.

[Max, what's with the insane stress reading?]

{You can't hear it?}

[Hear what?]

So only I could hear it.

ʚThat's weird; so I'm like my own Voice.ʚ

I clutched my ears with my claws, digging the points in. The sharp pain made tears come to my eyes, but it kept me alert.

[Hear what, Max?]

{Oh, nothing. I thought I heard birdkid laughter.}

I took my fingernails out of my ears and wiped them on my jeans. Maybe I'm tired. Yeah, that's it. I'm tired, stressed from that weird dream. I was imagining things.

"Let's go," I said to the befuddled Poise and Frederick, who didn't have a telepathy chip.

We ran until sunset, with me keeping my mind sharp and alert. Maybe I was tired and my mind decided to keep itself occupied with its subconscious. Probably. The four of us were assigned different jobs. Frederick, tents. Poise, water. Fang, fire. And me, dinner. Perfect. I was happy hunting.

I took an old shirt with me so I could carry the food without keeping it in some hollow. Did that once, never again. Disgusting. I heard Fang crunching off, deciding to take the leisurely way to snap off branches. Poise slinked off, while Frederick looked at me blatantly, probably wishing he could go hunting with me. I only hunted with the most intimate of people. It was sacred, hunting. At least to me.

I came across a rabbit almost instantly. It sniffed the air, not used to humans and trying to figure out what I was. It was cute, big eyes and fluffy coat.

I snapped its neck, put it in the shirt, and went on.

I found more birds, more rodents, and stumbled upon a deer before it fled. My sack of dinner was full, fresh, and smelled wonderful from my view.

I heard a soft footfall behind me and turned around.

"Oh, Poise," I said, "Hey."

She nodded, "Leave my dinner alive please." She slid back into the forest's shadows, carrying her bucket of water. She was a good friend, but as Fang said, creepy. She liked to 'play' (as she said, it was basically torture) with her food before eating it. Even I didn't do that, and I could be downright bloodthristy.

I picked up another squealing rabbit, holding it on the nape of the neck to bring to Poise. I almost wanted to let it go. The thing didn't really deserve this kind of pain. But Poise was first. She came first over any defenseless bunny rabbit.

ʚOh, drop the poor thing. She's only going to castrate it.ʚ

I dropped the rabbit in surprise and it bounded off into the night, probably glad to be free.

Why was it back?!

ʚShush already!ʚ

I sliced a gash in my forearm with a claw. The voice was silenced. If I had to be a cutter to keep the voice away, that was fine.

"Fang," I heard someone say. I crouched, springing up into the lower branch of a tree. I didn't recognize that voice. If somebody was attacking Fang . . .

I watched, automatically switching to night-mode. Better eyes, better hearing. The only downfall was that there was this one angle that showed my eyes shining. Not many people could see it though.

"What is it, Poise?" Fang asked. Poise! My whole body stiffened.

"Oh, nothing," I heard her whisper. My eyes watched as she suddenly stumbled and fell. Right onto Fang's shoulder. She seemed to collapse onto him.

"Poise?" Fang asked, holding her up and trying to push her back at the same time.

She sniffled. What the hell was she trying to pull?!

"I can't do this," she sobbed, "I can't compete with Erasers!" Fang looked mildly disgusted and amused.

"I'm just a lowly snake," she said, hiding her face in her pale hands and sniffling. She was playing the cute card, now was she? He was my mate and would not break before her.

"I need practice," she said, her tears stopping as if she discovered a purpose.

"You'll help me, won't you, Fang?" she asked, slinking a hand around his neck and flitting her tongue to his jaw.

ʚThat skank!ʚ

For once I had to agree with the thing.

Fang's eyes narrowed and he pushed her back, being very ungentlemanly about it. "WHAT are you doing?" he asked chillingly, "Max is my mate."

Poise hissed lowly, "I can give you more than that mangy cur can." She wove her sinous body over Fang's.

"Back off," I hissed as I slunk down the tree, throughly pissed off, "I've had enough of you playing slut-games with my mate."

She hissed threateningly, though melding into the trees. She knew where her place was. "You're not going to be the alpha couple much longer," she snarled, disappearing.

Fang frowned after her, "So much for friendship, eh Max?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I watched Poise seeth as I passed by her place on the log. Fang liked me better, ha ha, you two-faced backstabbing witch! I tossed her a dead rabbit, knowing she wanted a live one. Too bad. As soon as this mission was over, BAM! I'd kick her butt.

She gouged out its eyes savagely, with more venom (pun) that normal, as if it were still alive, ripping the tender flesh into large chunks and shoving them down her throat. If I hated watching her torture her food, it was even worse watching her eat. She unhinged her jaw; I watched as the meat slide down her throat and turned away with a shudder. Ew.

Although that might be pretty funny if she tried to swallow somebody's head or something. I chuckled, turning to Fang and sent him the thought. I watched him bite his cheek to keep from laughing.

[So what are we going to do about Poise?]

{I don't know. This is going to be dangerous. I'll keep watch.}

[Are you sure?]

{Sleep. You've been sexually harassed.}

[Yes, Max. Protect me; I'm such a weakling.]

I gave him a smile and felt for my switchblade. I was well- protected.

Actually, to tell the truth, nothing happened during the night. No birdkids attacks, no Poise attacks, not even being hit on by Frederick. It was weird.

But we were close.

The birdkids were only half a dozen miles away, not moving. They still must be sleeping since Erasers get up BEFORE the crack of dawn. I shouldered my pack and set off again with the group.

ʚHey! What are you do -ʚ

I scratched a line across the back of my hand without thinking. The voice had been in my dreams.

I had been jumping, trying to get off the ground because I wanted to fly but I had no wings. Then Poise came into my dream and magicked me into a possum. Don't ask, because I don't know why, but it still scared the living daylights out of me.

Possum?

{Fang, what do you know about possums?}

[Er, what?]

{Never mind.}

We got within a mile of them and went into stealth/attack mode. I piled my pack on the others and went into a huddle.

"What's our plan of attack?" Frederick asked, clearly gazing down my shirt as I bent double. I hissed at him.

"We sneak up and surprise them. Hopefully they're still asleep," Fang whispered, "Then we hit them with these." He held up a patch, which the rest of us glanced at quizzically.

"Newly-developed," Fang said reverently, "It zaps your central nervous system." We each took one, trying not to press the 'on' pad.

"Remember, bring them back ALIVE," Fang stressed. We all nodded and jumped into the trees, hopping from branch to branch until we were close to the bridkids' campsite. I crouched in a watching position.

My branch jumped suddenly and I clung to it, digging my nails into the frail bark. Poise was on my branch.

"What?" I asked, "Last night didn't change the main priority, even though I would like to rip your appendix out through your navel."

"Just watch your step, Max," she hissed, "You wouldn't want any accidents to happen to Fangy, now would you?" Her eyes slitted maliciously.

"Yes, but if something did happen to 'Fangy', I'd kick your butt down the six layers of hell," I threatened. She got a thinking look on her face.

"What if something just happened to you?" she asked, flickering her tongue, "What if I told Fang and Frederick that the birdkids killed you?"

I glanced around, wary. Shoot. Fang and Frederick had already gone ahead and were in position.

"Yes, I'll tell them that," she said, stepping towards me, "I never liked you Max. You never deserved to be alpha."

"And you're going to make a good one? Puh-leeze," I said, keeping my tone light and airy while trying to get my knife out without her seeing it.

"I have ways of persuasion. I almost had Fang last night," She hissed.

"What? Being a skank?" I chuckled.

"This," she hissed soothingly, her eyes glowing sinisterly. So, you're thinking, snake's eyes? Very, very interesting. Nothing like my own, but just as disturbing, except for the fact that now her pupils were disappearing.

With no thought of looking away, my body took a step forward. I was being fricking hypnotized like that jungle kid in Disney! She walked the rest of the way to me, meeting me in the middle.

Can't move body!

She lowered her head to my collarbone, sniffing delicately. Oh my god this was going to scar me for the rest of my life. Then Poise let the fangs slip all the way out of her gums.

And then she bit me, draining her poison into my body.

The pain was so intense I screamed, breaking free of the enchantment I was under, and pushed her away. I could feel the venom like fire spreading slowly through my veins.

Poise gave an unholy grin and wiped her lips of my blood, "A nice slow death for you, my dear Max." She jumped to the next branch over, heading towards the boys. I clapped a hand over my bite. If I didn't move as fast, the poison couldn't spread as fast.

Then I heard Fang give a shout and forgot all of that.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

ʚNo! Don't! You'll kill yourself!ʚ The voice said weakly. Fang was my mate. Fang was in trouble. Fang was going to be helped. That was that.

I emerged from the trees in a full-out battle. Some blond kid was battling Fang. Some little boy was battling Frederick. Some teen girl was battling Poise. And there was a little blond girl for me.

ʚAngel!ʚ

Who? Oh, whatever. This was the time to fight. I went for a punch at her head. She ducked.

"Max, you're back!" she said joyfully, jumping into the air, dodging my kick.

I hissed. I could feel the pain in my neck spreading. Plus, this little kid was pissing me off. She NEVER THREW A SINGLE PUNCH and I was getting weaker by the second. Damn you Poise.

{Fang . . . Poise . . . bit me . . .}

I saw him turn his head and get punched in the cheek by the blond kid.

[Crap. Max, that is not good! What should we do?!]

I sank to the ground, the little girl looking at me knowingly.

◘I know what's happening to you, Max. We can help.◘

Whoa-ho. That was a new voice.

Wait a second, it was the little girl! Angel? She nodded. She could read my mind?! That wasn't in the job description! I saw her cast a glance at Poise, who promptly stopped pulling the black girl's hair and ran into a tree. Nice. I grinned, even though I could feel my entire body seizing.

{Fang, I need you to tell me something.}

[What? You're going to be fine, Max!]

{So you're worried about me? Great. I'm fine.}

[You just collapsed on the ground Max!]

{Oh, is that why everything got shorter?}

My head hurt. Everything hurt.

{Fang, why did you scream?}

[This guy, here-] He punched the kid. [Was waiting for us. We got a bit ambushed.]

{Fang, why didn't you contact me?}

[I don't know why I couldn't get through to you; I was sending thoughts at triple speed.]

{Fang. Fang, tell me you love me.}

[I love you Max. But why all the questions?]

{I'm dying, Fang.}

I watched Poise run into the tree again, laughing a bit. That witch deserved it. Her nose was broken and her forehead gushing blood. She deserved . . . what she . . . did to me . . .

Angel looked at me, alarmed. There was probably a grayish-purple tinge to my skin. She dived for my body and held it up, stronger than I thought she would be for her age. She executed a sharp blink that had Fang, Poise and Frederick dropping like rocks.

Then she looked at me helplessly as I blacked out.

There was a sucking sensation on my neck. Was that Fang? I giggled and heard someone spit. Ew.

"What happened to the girl and the boy I was fighting?" A voice asked.

"The girl took the boy and ran off with his body," Angel replied.

"Angel, Iggy, my Flock!" I said happily. Wait, I didn't say that. That wasn't my voice.

"Max?! Do you remember us?!" Angel cried out.

"How could I forget my family?" I heard myself say, "But this isn't me. She's forgotten."

"What?" I heard voices exclaim.

"Keep me hidden, keep me safe. Keep me under mind control, Angel; I'm dangerous," I said.

So I couldn't see, but I could hear and feel relatively well. And that sucking on my neck was making me laugh again.

"Keep the other Eraser under mind control too," I said, "Starting . . . now!"

I blinked and jumped up, growling. Angel looked at me serenely and blinked. I dropped to the ground like a lead weight. Something invisible was holding me down. I snarled.

"Let me go, you mistakes!" I barked, "Let me go!"

"I don't like this new Max much," the blond kid, Iggy, said, nudging my leg, "Ange, can you keep her still so I can get the rest of the poison out?" She nodded. Damn! Now I couldn't move an inch.

Iggy put his lips to my neck and sucked. I growled. He spat purplish blood into the floor.

"Let me go, you morons! LET ME GO!" I screamed, half-wild in anger, trying to thrash against my invisible bonds.

"You should be grateful," Iggy growled through my blood, "We saved you."

I quieted, silenced by this thought. Okay, so they saved me, so what? They were my enemies! Well . . . Poise was more of my enemy than anyone else at the moment, but c'mon! I wasn't going to be friends with these freaks of nature!

Angel glared at me disapprovingly.

"Where are your wings, Max?" Iggy asked.

"WHAT?!" I shouted.

"Where. Are. Your. Wings?" Iggy repeated quietly, "They took them off, didn't they?"

"I NEVER HAD WINGS!" I screamed, straining against whatever was holding me down.

"Yes, you did, Max," Angel said quietly, looking at me through her creepy eyes, "And you don't remember." She shook her head, "This is horribly messed-up."

I gave a completely feral scream at that point, so harsh that Iggy jumped away from my freshly bleeding neck, holding his hands over his ears. I struggled, fighting whatever was restraining me, yowling like a wounded cat. Then I broke it.

Angel looked at me with wide eyes. I snorted. Creepy girl. She was better off dead. I hissed at her, laying my paw over her throat.

"I won't kill you," I growled, "Because you saved my life. But if you ever come near me again, that pretty little neck of yours will be severed." She was terrified, basically hyper-ventilating, staring at me fearfully.

I kicked the blond kid, Iggy, in the gut, making him double over and grabbed Frederick's shirt front. He was my only ally. He was going to come along whether he liked it or not. I released Angel's throat and snickered at her shocked expression.

"I have to get my boyfriend back before I come for you a second time," I hissed, "So watch your goofy chicken wings." I loaded Frederick on my back (still out cold, the antagonistic, weak moron) and raced off into the forest, going mostly morphy. My bare hind paws pulverized the ground, my shoes in shreds miles behind me.

I'm coming for you Poise.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

ʚGo back! Go -ʚ

I calmly bit my lip, droplets of blood running down my chin. Take that.

No offense, but I was dog-tired, excuse the pun. Carrying Frederick was the best thing while it lasted, because he was totally quiet. Then he woke up, grabbed my butt (pardon his actions), which caused me to promptly launch him into the nearest tree. Now he was going faster than the normal rate, and I was dying. I was totally stronger than him in every way possible.

But you know, not sleeping fully the night before, getting poison in my system, struggling to get free, fighting, and now running for 8 hours straight really does something to a girl. Something being me actually almost caving in to beg for it to end. But I didn't.

Around nightfall, Frederick saw my haggard face and decided to make camp. I ripped a strip of my jacket up and wound it around my shoulder. The bite was STILL bleeding.

"Let me help you with that," Frederick said, almost kindly, as he unwound my makeshift bandage. He put his head to my collarbone and started licking the blood away.

I wriggled under him, "Stop it, Frederick."

"What? I'm just cleaning the wound," he said, sucking lightly on one of the puncture marks.

"No. You're not," I gasped out, "Get away." He kissed the skin at my throat.

"Fang's away, c'mon, let's play," he whispered in my ear, nuzzling the fur.

"Way to rhyme," I spat, pushing him off, trembling. He was too much like Fang. Impudent, cute, and able to reduce me to a puddle at once. But he wasn't Fang. Fang was my mate, and wolves mate for life.

Frederick then leaned in and kissed my lips, long and hard. I bit him.

"Why, Max, why?" he asked, tears actually leaking out the corners of his eyes, "Why won't you love me?"

"Pull it together," I hissed, "You're a godforsaken Eraser." He sniffed a bit, looking pathetic with snot dribbling out his nose.

"C'mon," I coaxed, relaxing a little, "I do love you, but like a kid brother." I ruffled his hair playfully.  
"But you're not my sister," he said. I was wrong. He wasn't like Fang. Fang wouldn't be kicked and cowed into a corner where he had nowhere to go. Fang wouldn't be sobbing his guts out because I told him I didn't love him. This wasn't Fang.

"Yeah, but until you see that Fang's my mate, forget a family kiss," I sneered. I was only with this guy for convience. He would help me find my mate, whether he liked it or not. So what if I was using him?

ʚThat's a really bitc-ʚ

"Shut up!" I roared, silencing both of them, "I've had enough!" I held my head in my hands and groaned, anguished. I missed Fang. I hadn't seen him for a day, and we were rarely apart. It was a mental ache in my heart.

"I understand," Frederick said, laying his paw on my back comfortingly, "I'm sorry." I looked in his eyes. There was a new coldness there. He knew where his bounderies were now. That was good.

"Let's get some sleep," he said, laying down on the ground next to me, snuggling up. I sighed. Scratch that. He still didn't know his bounderies. I scootched away and curled up.

Priorities. I had to find Fang. I had to dissuade Frederick more. I had to kill my former best friend. I had to kill the birdkids . . .

ʚNo, listen to me, they're your friends!ʚ

Shut up! I bit my finger, watching the red blood appear.

Tomorrow was probably going to be a long, ugly day.

"Let me go, you witch!" Fang yelled, struggling against the ropes that held him.

"Fang, Fang, Fang," Poise said with contempt, licking her fingers to turn the pages of a book, "The more you struggle, the tighter the ropes."

She was right. Fang felt the ropes bite into his skin and hissed. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be with Max. Always. Not a psychotic skank bent on killing Max.

"You see Fang," Poise went on conversationally, "Once Max comes for me, I'll come for her."

"And once she's here, you'll kill her and become my mate," Fang monologued, "I've heard it a zillion times from you. But I keep telling you: wolves mate for life."

"Not if I do something about it," Poise snickered, "You haven't mated, I should hope. Therefore, you're not actually FOREVER yet. And if I can find someway to break you up, then I can make you mine." She shut her book.

Fang's face tightened. If he was more emotional, it probably would've drained of color. He could not let this happen. Poise could break them up, she was capable enough, and then – THEN SHE WOULD KILL MAX. No way.

[Max, max, can you hear me?]

Poise laughed, "I overheard about your telepathy link. You seriously thought I wouldn't do anything about it? I'm keeping that part of your brain under hypnosis. You can't contact her."

Fang was utterly pissed. He leaned out and snapped at her nose. She jumped and then laughed. Fang growled again, enraged, showing his fangs.

"Come on Fang," she pouted, running a hand through his hair carefully, "I can make you suffer much worse under my hypnosis." He snapped at her again, this time biting her forearm deeply. Blood oozed out around his teeth.

Poise shrieked, smacking Fang's head against a bookshelf. He let go, his head throbbing. But it was all worth it. Poise was seething.

"I can make you break up with Max," she said, "I can make you lure Max to her death. I can make you KILL Max."

A tremor ran through Fang's body. Max, his Max, sobbing quietly. Max getting ripped apart by Poise. Max getting ripped apart by HIM.

"No, please don't," Fang said, admitting defeat, "Please don't hurt Max."

"That's better," Poise said, licking her wound clean, "Now pucker up Fang."

He stiffened, "I'll be civil, but there's no way I'm kissing you."

She smiled, "Fortunately, you don't have to. I can make you."

Fang screwed his eyes shut as Poise leaned towards him. "Silly Fang," she chuckled, "The hypnosis is already in your brain. Closing your eyes won't help, but it sure is romantic."

Fang glared at her through his eyelids, feeling a fuzzy haze take over his mind.

[I'm so sorry, Max.]


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

I was sure I was dreaming. I was up in the air, an Eraser, with wings. I flapped my wings powerfully, and I swooped up. I felt my stomach go down. It tickled.

Then there was the younger Max, and the older Max, holding hands with me. They were full of light, almost ethereal. Their hands were warm.

Now we were soaring above the clouds. An unending field of white went from one end of the horizon to the other.

"We don't have much time," younger Max said, "When the sun comes up, we're gone."

"So Max, have any questions for us?" older Max said, "We need you to understand."

I blinked. What was I supposed to ask two figments of my imagination?

"Why did I dream about a possum?" I spat out, chuckling. Let them make something of that.

"You were supposed to die, by Poise's standards," older Max said in a monotone.

"But possums PLAY DEAD," younger Max said, "You were never going to die."

Okay then. That was weirdly making sense.

"Why do I have wings?" I asked, "This is the only real question I need."

"You had wings. They took your wings away. You took your wings away. You didn't fight it. You liked the feeling of being strong. Not powerful, but strong enough to get the scientists back. It didn't work," older Max explained.

"Your mind was the last to go. Then you were a complete Eraser, except for the fact that you had a soul. An avian-hybrid soul," younger Max reminded.

"I'm no bird-geek," I spat.

"Then tell us what the two little marks on your shoulder blades are," younger Max said defiantly, "You're no Eraser."

"What marks? How did they get there?" I asked.

"Fang and you changed little by little. You did each other's marks, to remind you of the past. It won't go away. Other marks are probably hidden places on your body too," older Max said, "Like this one." She pulled up her shirt and pointed to the black-winged heart on her hipbone. It said 'Fang'.

I pulled up mine and checked. Nothing there. "Uh-huh," I said, "Because my skin is tattoed. Yeah."

"Shoot," young Max said, "Did they take them off?"

"No," older Max said confidently, poking the spot on me that was blank, "Jeb said he did. It's just highly-concentrated concealer. Bless him. I think it comes off with the remover."

"And the remover is where?" I asked, interested now. I truly wanted to know if these people weren't yanking my chain and there was something there.

"Jeb's office in the School, where Fang is," older Max said confidently again.

"Fang! Oh geez! I have to find him!" I cried out.

"You'll find him, but there's going to be something unexpected that will happen to you," older Max said, holding her temple with her free hand, "I can't say what."

"You sound like my old Voice," younger Max accused older Max, rolling her eyes.

The sun began to flicker in rays over the horizon. It cut through the other Maxes like butter.

"See ya!" they chorused, fading away and letting go of my hands.

I fumbled, automatically grabbing for their translucent hands. Then I figured out that my wings were gone. They were dissolving into light. My claws and ears and other Eraser-y bits dissolved into dark particles.

Then I fell to Earth, cutting through the clouds as a pathetic, naked human.

I woke up with a start, my chest heaving with shuddering breaths. I had almost been splattered to the ground like an egg. I shuddered again, shoving off Frederick's arm from my shoulder. It was cold out. Very cold. I shivered, rubbing my arms, trying to get the friction to burn me. At least then I would be warm.

Frederick groaned and curled up closer to conserve heat. Poor guy. I dragged him into this. But it was his obligation to help his peers. Well, the least I could do was get breakfast.

ʚGood job. Actually doing something for somebody else.ʚ

I snarled, but let the voice ramble. I had a hunch it was one or both of the Maxes in my dream. Besides, I was tired of watching my own blood spill to the ground.

ʚTen o'clock.ʚ

I whipped around and saw a feather. Birdkids. I snarled again and felt my eyes dilate. They're in trouble.

I grabbed hold of a shirt and grabbed the squirming little Angel in front of me.

"Do you have a death wish?" I growled. She shook her head 'no'.

"You told us to keep you safe," she said, trying to wriggle out of my claws.

"I told you squat," I snarled, "Get out of here before he wakes up." I threw her to the ground.

She scuttled up quickly, brushing dirt off her pink kid shirt, "We're going to help you, whether you said so or not. You're Max. Our Max." She became translucent and then invisible, "Bye."

I ground my teeth in frustration, chipping a tooth.

"I know you're there!" I shouted, "You stay away from me or I'll kill you!"

"Kill WHO?" Frederick said, sitting up, ruffling his hair and yawning.

"Uh, Poise," I said quickly, "You know, when we find her."

Frederick nodded in agreement, "I've got jerky. If you want to kill her so bad, we should get going." He tossed me a pack and I ripped it open with my fangs, scarfing down the leathery meat.

We ran off again. I could swear I could hear other feet pattering along behind, but no matter.

{I'm coming for you, Fang.}

Fang looked over at Poise, who was dozing on her bed, her hair askew. He spit in her direction. If the forest thing had been sexual harrassment, it was under-defined. He'd been stuck with Poise for two days in a row now, and it was pretty bad. He was undernourished and tired because Poise slept and woke up with her own freaking weird sleep patterns. And he needed a shower too. Poise kept it stifling hot in here all the time, so it was stuffy and uncomfortable and made Fang sweat a lot.

Fang had to admit though, she was pretty when she looked mostly human. Otherwise she was really creepy. He gave a shudder. Underneath her sideways closing eyelids, she had almost liquid black eyes. She couldn't see well at all. She could see heat though and that was why she was so good at scents and tracking.

She had long, long green-black hair and skin that could switch from its usual darkened state into an armor of scales. She was so disturbing. He didn't like Poise. He didn't belong here. Max was better than Poise.

Fang wriggled around in his ropes again and tried to scissor through the ropes with a claw. No good. These ropes were like a straightjacket.

{I'm coming for you, Fang.}

He gave a start. It was Max!

Poise sat up in her bed like she hadn't been sleeping at all and grinned, "Max is coming? Perfect."

"Leave her alone!" Fang growled.

"Oh no, Fang, because the sooner I get rid of her, the better. Who cares if the scientists want to keep her alive? She's mine to kill," Poise said, licking her fangs with her tongue, "And you're going to kill her for me."

"Like hell!" Fang snarled as she sat next to him, petting his hair like he was some sort of domestic animal.

"How to kill, how to kill?" she said absentmindedly. Fang snarled and bit her hand deep, not about to let go. She shrieked and tried to throw him off, but he was determined to piss her off. Let her molest him again, who cares! As long as her attention was turned away from Max . . .

Fang bit deeper, his jaws aching, while Poise then turned her flesh into scales. His teeth clanged off the scales, dripping with her blood. He looked up at the monster before him, a snake-beast, ugly as the scum on the bottom of your shoe, before it turned back into Poise, biting her lip in pain and holding her mangled hand.

"You bastard," she hissed, glancing down at the torn tendons and muscles in her hand, "How dare you."

Fang gave her a smile that was so sadistic that she started, his fangs dripping blood down his chin. The blood didn't taste good though, that was for sure. He spat out a glob on her chest, still smiling.

"Why do you think I'm called Fang?" he asked, running his tongue over his bloody teeth, "You have no idea what I can do to you."

Poise, disconcerned, backed out of the room, shutting the door quickly. Fang sighed, leaning back against the dresser, trying to get some relief to his aching arms. That should keep her wary for a while. She was probably in first aid right now, claiming to have accidently cut open her own hand with a knife during lunch or something. She wasn't supposed to be hiding him here. She wasn't even supposed to be after Max. The lame story she came up with was that Frederick had died and Max and Fang had been taken by the birdkids. Yeah right.

Something fell on his head and he winced. Ow, what the heck was that? He saw a razorblade next to him. Luckily it had fallen flat-side-up on his head. He blinked. Was Poise a cutter? Forget that, this was a golden opportunity. Something to cut with.

He wedged the razorblade between two things using his feet and started trying to saw the rope away. He was going to get free.


End file.
